It's hard to come up with the right animal-based analogy, but what springs to mind is as-if the hyenas from "The Lion King" suddenly successfully usurped the lions and were left with the uncomfortable need to transition from parasites to providers. United Auto Workers to take majority share of Chrysler.

Under the White House plan to save Chrysler, a major UAW concession has the union accepting company stock instead of cash to fund those retirees' health care benefits. That translates into a 55 percent share of the new Chrysler — once it emerges from bankruptcy.

That's a majority share, but the union cautions that that it does not in any way, give the UAW control of the company.

"The board seat we've been given, it has no votes," says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. "We do not have control of that board." ...

Gettelfinger said the goal will be for the union to sell off the stock as soon as possible. He added there is no plan for the union to be a long-term holder of big blocks of Chrysler stock.

"I'd take cash today," Gettelfinger said. "Let us have the money. Let somebody else take the stock and give us the money." ...

"Chrysler is going to be a very different type of company," said Chaison. "We don't know what it's going to look like. What it will produce. Whether it will be successful. This is the UAW's biggest nightmare: What if this all fails?"

Despite their early useful history, the unions have spent the past several decades latched to the neck of the American auto industry, attempting to suck as much blood as possible without actually killing the host. Fail.

The UAW can clearly see that they'd rather be the parasite than the provider, but the the host has become so sickly that the union is forced into a corner. Their only hope for wriggling out of this mess is government intervention on their behalf, but perhaps the rule of law is still strong enough to prevent such favoritism.

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UAW Poised for Majority Ownership of Chrysler

It's hard to come up with the right animal-based analogy, but what springs to mind is as-if the hyenas from \"The Lion King\" suddenly successfully usurped the lions and were left with the uncomfortable need to transition from parasites to providers. United Auto Workers to take majority share of Chrysler.\n\n

Under the White House plan to save Chrysler, a major UAW concession has the union accepting company stock instead of cash to fund those retirees' health care benefits. That translates into a 55 percent share of the new Chrysler — once it emerges from bankruptcy.\n\nThat's a majority share, but the union cautions that that it does not in any way, give the UAW control of the company.\n\n\"The board seat we've been given, it has no votes,\" says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. \"We do not have control of that board.\" ...\n\nGettelfinger said the goal will be for the union to sell off the stock as soon as possible. He added there is no plan for the union to be a long-term holder of big blocks of Chrysler stock.\n\n\"I'd take cash today,\" Gettelfinger said. \"Let us have the money. Let somebody else take the stock and give us the money.\" ...\n\n\"Chrysler is going to be a very different type of company,\" said Chaison. \"We don't know what it's going to look like. What it will produce. Whether it will be successful. This is the UAW's biggest nightmare: What if this all fails?\"

\n\nDespite their early useful history, the unions have spent the past several decades latched to the neck of the American auto industry, attempting to suck as much blood as possible without actually killing the host. Fail.\n\nThe UAW can clearly see that they'd rather be the parasite than the provider, but the the host has become so sickly that the union is forced into a corner. Their only hope for wriggling out of this mess is government intervention on their behalf, but perhaps the rule of law is still strong enough to prevent such favoritism.